Wheel mirror mount



July 5, 1949. H. G. HOLMES WHEEL MIRROR MOUNT 4 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 4, 1945 lNVfNTOR. HERBERT G. OLMES A TToRA/EY July 5, 1949. H. G. HOLMES WHEEL MIRROR MOUNT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 4, 1945 A TroPA/Ev y 5,1949- 7 H. G. HOLMES 2,475,502

WHEEL MIRROR MOUNT Filed Sept. 4, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet s 7 lA/VENTOR.

7 HERBERT G. HOLMES A TTORNEV y H. s. HOLMES 2,475,502

' WHEEL MIRROR MOUNT Filed Sept. 4, 1945 4 Sheet-Sheet 4 [N VEN TOR HERBERT G- HOL MES wheel and also showing a wheel mirror supported on said mount.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of Fig. 1

showing said mount as applied-to the rim of the wheel with the wheel mirror broken away.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and illustrating one of the jaws and teeth of the invention as when operatively engaging the rim of a wheel on which said mount is fastened.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and. illustrating in detail the clutch-clamp of the invention as when this is actuated in fastening said mount on said rim.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view-taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the clutchclamp of the invention in relaxed condition and freely slideable on the slide bars and positioned as just before actuation of the clutch-clamp to fasten the mount on a rim.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken onthe line 1-! of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 99 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the device supporting slide of theinvention and the detent mechanism thereof.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line |0l0 of Fig. l and illustrating the detent mechanism of the device supporting slide.

Referring specifically to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 to 10 inclusive, the Wheel shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be designated by the reference numeral 20, this wheel having a sheet metal rim 2! on which is mounted a pneumatic tire 22. As shown in the enlarged sectional views of Figs. 3, 4, and 6, the outer surface of the rim 2! is in contact with the tire 22 excepting for an edge portion 23 of the rim which is substantially cylindrical in shape. The edge surface 24 of the rim is, within fairly low tolerances, parallel with the central radial plane indicated by the broken line '25 in Fig. 2. The axis of the wheel isindicated by the numeral 26in Fig. 1. The hub and axle. (not shown) of the wheel 20 are covered by the usual hub cap 21. (See Fig. 1.)

The invention is shown in'the drawingsas embodied in a mount 30 which includes a frame 3|,

a clutch-clamp 32, abutment jaws 33, 34 and 35 provided on said frame and on said clutch-clamp, and a device supporting slide 36.

The frame 3| is preferably T-shaped and includes a cross member and a stem member which is preferably formed by a pair of slide bars 4| which are fixed in suitable sockets providedin the cross member 40.

The clutch-clamp 32 includes a cast body 43 having a recess 44 which extends horizontally into said body from the rear and downwardly through the body as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 6. This divides the body 43 into an upper bear- '4 ing block 45, having slide bearing holes 46, a lower bearing block 41 having slide bearing holes 48, and a cam shaft bearing hole 49. The body 43 also has a front wall having a bearing hole 5| therein in alignment With the hole 49.

Disposed in the recess 44 lying on top of the lower bearingblock 41 is a clutcheplate having holes 56 aligned with the slide bearing holes 46 and 48 of the body 43. Coiled expansion springs 51 are compressed between the plate 55 and the upper bearing block 45 and the slide bars 4| are so spaced as to be slideably received through these holes and the springs 56 as shown in Fig. 7.

The shape of the clutch-plate 55 in plan is shown in Fig. 8, it being noted that the holes 56 are enough larger than the slide bars 4| to permil; the plate 55 to be cocked relative to these bars as shown in Fig. 4. Extending downwardly from the inner end of the clutch-plate 55 is a cam follower 58.

Journalin in the bearing holes 49 and 5| is a cam shaft 59 having a notch 60 which receives the cam follower 58 and forms an eccentric cam iii of the balance of the shaft opposite this notch. The outer surface of the cam BI is, however, concentric. The extending end of the shaft 59 is fitted with a finger lever 62. s

The abutment jaws 33 and 34 are alike, each of these comprising a metal cylinder 65 which is secured to the cross member 4|] by a cap screw 66. (See Fig. 3.) The jaws 35 comprises a similar but shorter metal cylinder 6'! which is se cured onto the front wall 50 of the clutchclamp body 43 by a cap screw 68. The jaw cylinders 65 and 61 have inner abutment faces 69 and are provided with eccentric threaded holes 10 into which are screwed hardened threaded teeth H which are preferably headless screws formed of high carbon steel. The threads of the teeth ll of course are sufficiently coarse so that they will make a good bite into softer metal such as the.

metal of the rims 2| against which they are pressed.

The device supporting slide 36 has a cast body.

15 with a front wall 16 which unites slide bearings 11, having holes 18 through which the slide bars 4! freely slide, and a central socket 19 in which is mounted a shaft for supporting a device such as a wheel mirror 8|. wall 16 are detent units 82 comprising plungers 83 slideably mounted in holes 84 and pressed against the slide bars M by leaf springs 85 secured t0 the wall 16 by screws 86. The shaft 80 may be held in thesocket 19 as by a set screw B1. The detent units 82 apply suificient pressure to the bars 4| to prevent accidental displacement of the slide 36 on these bars but still permitting the slide tobe manually slid up or down on these bars for purposes of adjustment.

Operation The mount an is adapted to be employed for temporarily supporting on the wheel 20 any device such as the wheel mirror 8| while the latter is being employed in checking one or more alignment characteristics of the wheel. The manner in which the wheel mirror 8| is employed when thus mounted to measure alignment characteristics is disclosed in a copending application for U. S. Letters Patent of Tracy Carrigan, Herbert G. Holmes, and Clyde A. Shoemaker, Ser. No. 571,716, filed January 5, 1945, on an Optical wheel aligner, now Patent No. 2,470,090. The wheel mirror 8| is adapted to serve the same function as the wheel Provided in the 5,. meter of; amt-laws dise a edm msaid tenant ins amili ti th m t t la ra ut nt faces. 6- and o lth n r :t a efieetina utiac lo z't a hee im r n ist 13.93: the lide ar t until he b ment ates fihq 'l' helaw 3, 3 amt-3a a separated .iillt ll o: hat a l hree f hes a s; can, be brought to bear against them uter nim edgei t si ew a inlE esi landa." h ssemb d m unt illsandvmi m -fi l a e hen i ted nt l het e 1A Q l he hit 33 nd? 3A bea ga nst; the-Q iet su fas h If? the; im it, While the mount is thus hfilda. the; h t ac-c amp 32: s l owe t id awnwan launtil he ooth hereotrestsi oosa on; en f; t e im; 2.

'Ilha manna h. while hu o i q a, is. nQW pressedl nwat ly fi m y a ain t th rim Z1 and while i ess el he hand e. 2% of h u ch: amm zzz zswune downwan h to rotate. the cam Shaft. :9: The; first H reaction of;- this rotation; is todiftmn the oamifollowen 58 fifiiy her byv oc me is-p ate l .l v bar) a h minlF sw audit. The: ole. .fiiil nl the-"c utoh-pla h o g Whmh; the s ide; ba M nd are jus anes nqueh for? this; pl. 5 e" o ke s ha it binds a ainst the: slide a s w e e plate fihQhQSzzthhlimits ofithis cock-ingmovemfint, The rotation at the shatt 5a; continued, however the. n sultthat the ac on; of e a H o thernllow n Elms tolslidethe odmbl'o h h ownwardlw on: the slide ans All: QVEIE short d st nc but: with: oonsidenable fence. The; or o is movement, is suffioient to; cau e-the; hardened thneadsmf al'lzthnee-ofrsthe teethscrews'l-l-st bite into the relatively soft metal; oflf the rim It as shown in Figs. 32, and- 5;:

As this. motion; is completed,. a. concentric surface of the camfi l is-.turned; upwardly -intoicontac-t with. the follower 58$ aslshown in Figs; 4, and: 5. Iihisllocksitheiclutchacla-mp $2. inlthe position into which! it: was: just: moved; on the er a s M which; maintains the; teeth Ill; in biting; engagement pwithlthewheels Iimt 21? until the cam: shaft 59 is. reversely. notated t0 nestorea the clutohwlamp 321420 slidabla relationv withl the -slidexbars 41;.

From the above desoriptiomitwis clean thatthe mountn 303 may be readily applied: to the rim of any wheel: of: the standard type. used: on; trucks es; within a CQHS Q la Q ran eof sizes. It is: also tobe noted: that; adju tment; of the, mount 3 m to the wheel is easily accomplished and; that thehands: need not be shifted from th ir p sit on ol i e'the mounti sawheniadius ing it, toleffect aseouning: oi; the mountltcl the wheel: in. its; adjusted position.

The mount furthermore is relatively light as theicastz artslmay belmade of: aluminum so that the I mountxmaw; be easily supponted; in; the; hands whileit is being applieditd or removed from: a wheel".

Anothendistinctive advanta e I in; hemomt ofrmydnvention' is the fact: thatv when it; is ad;- justedl to a wheelandl actuated to; Secure the mountto thelwheel; thelseouring meanshit t he heel; s hen ok d; n. h s h atio Q that the mo nt na hossihly ce tal y slip o t dur the heatin aen ion, he eby insuringthe ap ar ut; s nponte z ythe o t n he wh el nother adm n ase o h ec r n eans of the invention is that when the latter is actuated, while the mount is held in-v correctlyadjusted nelatiom wi th he l; t e cur m ans posithe m a of: the

" tiyely umtes the-mount withthe rim of: thetwheel with ut; di unh a the p sition of the: mount The Q eratpt s: thu iven ass e h the mour t will be, in; its original properly adjusted relation with the wheel throughout the checking onenat m.

lt t ano h definite dva as -oi the mount 3t. thatitmaig not only be easily adjusted to various ize heels mt asily secured permanently i conrectzrelatio with any'given wheel, but it may with equal ease be released and removed frzom the wheel by simply taking the mount in the handa wi h onehandz e t n the-fingenl v r ta, rotatingthe latter to relax the clutch-clamp 32;, d pulling; e? mou t utwardly fr m. the wheel The teeth, 11 readily, slip, outwardly offi h im 1"!- as onni as heclutohamp 32 s elaxe rom t g p n rel on; with the slide bar sq l h It has been l found greferyable tozapply the mount t inv t cnsto helwhee m Zl with the ee h: it n a t n e xteriorfa e f. th r m asshgwmirutheidrawi gsh Incase a wheel isen, countered in, which; space is;v not available to aecpmmodate; the teeth: H; outside the, rim 2L, the mountltlt maybe readily modified so that it mean Qa aphl edt t he r m with the teeth H contacting the interior: face -of the-rimr 21. Thisis accomplished, by" loosening the cap screws 66, rotating the; abutment jaws 331 andL 34* a half tum teach and, then ga n t htenin e p Scr ws-2 tit The clutch-c a p Z1 is hen l pp d oft of; the; slide bars, 4L inverted, andthen replaced on these bars.

lhe; manna 3.0: is low. readxor: applie tione t0 the nimof a; wheeliwiththe teeth ll en aging the, interior of; that rim. To so apply the mounttll, this'is adjusted to the rim; so that the ahutmentfaoes; Q9; of; the; abutment jaws 33, 34, and 3h restv a ainst the d e su a e 24, 0f the rim 2;} with; the; teeth H all disposed; inwardly resp t0 the; rim. 'Ilhe mount 30 is now lowered-t so, that, its weight is supported bythe teeth; 12! of; the-tahutmentjawsfl and 34 resting on'the-rim; Glfll'flhwlamp 3-2 is now slid-upward1y'tqb11ing; the;\tooth1 H thereof against the inner faoeLofi-the rim The fingerlevertz is now actuated, to cause they clutch-plate 55, to grip the slide: bars-M andi s i t h ut hlamp 11R" warclllv; foroefully: to, imbed the threads of the teeth; It in the inhe1r;-$ lr-face1 of the rim 2t and thusmnite the mgunttfiwiththe rim relaxin o thele ute mh ases the mount; 3th IQml his: os ion: e tly me manneraslpret lfi yrdesqlti d forhelposition in which. thelteethla r dispen d outs d the rim,

From-,the foregoing; it, is l clear" that the mount 31!: of; my-inv entio may be applied either. by a constricting action causing; the? teethto bite into he: Qu en; suriane he; r. a xp din ac s tl' e: teeth H to bite into the inner: sunfaeei hei imis: tlSQ- clean thatwwhatever, size: of; Wheelthe mount.- t ms; n ention: m e applied t it au ema ea hzassume apo onl el t ve to thewhee in the asis o l the W e lie iaposed equidistant from the slide bars 4|. Thus, it is always possible by sliding the device supporting slide 36 on the bars 4!, after the mount has been applied to a wheel 20, to bring the axis of the shaft 80, which is mounted on the slide 36, into coextensive alignment with the axis 26 of the wheel.

The accurate location of the mirror with its axis in coincidence with that of the wheel may be effected by lifting the wheel free of the floor on which it rests and rotating the wheel. The slide 36 is then adjusted on the bars 4! to eliminate any eccentricity of the mirror 8| relative to the wheel.

From this, it is clear that, by use of the mount 3|] of my invention, a device such as the wheel mirror 8| may be readily and accurately mounted on a wheel in a given relationship with the axis of the wheel and retained indefinitely in said relationship.

What I claim is:

1. In a mount suitable for application to any of a variety of circular rims varying in diameter, the combination of: a frame; two spaced jaws provided thereon; means on said frame providing a slideway symmetrically disposed with respect to a plane bi-secting the line connecting said two jaws and perpendicular with said line; jaw means slideable along said slideway between various positions in which said jaw means is equidistant from said two jaws; teeth provided on said jaws and said jaw means and alternatively cooperatively disposable for internal action against said rim or external constrictive action against said rim when said jaw means and said jaws have been brought into simultaneous contact with the outer edge of said rim; and means operable alternatively for shifting said jaw means simultaneously relative to said frame with sufficient power to cause said teeth to bite uniformly into said rim either constrictively or expansively as the case may require and thereby securely position said mount on said rim.

2. In a mount suitable for application to any of a variety of circular rims varying in diameter, the combination of: a frame; two spaced jaws provided thereon; means on said frame providing a slideway symmetrically disposed with respect to a plane bi-secting the line connecting said two jaws and perpendicular with said line; jaw means slideable along said slideway between various positions in which said jaw means in equi-distant from said two jaws; teeth provided on said jaws and said jaw means and alternatively, cooperatively disposable for internal expansive action against said rim or external constrictive action against said rim when said jaw means and said jaws have been brought into simultaneous contact with the outer edge of said rim; means operable alternatively for shifting said jaw means relative to said frame with sufi'icient power to cause said teeth to bite into said rim either constrictively or expanslvely as the case may require and thereby securely position said mount on. said rim; and an instrument support slideably mounted on said slideway to support and slideably adjust the position of an instrument to bring this into coaxial relation with said rim.

3. In a mount suitable for application to any of a variety of circular rims varying in diameter, the combination of: a T-shaped frame including a stem member and a cross member, said stem member comprising a pair of slide bars; two jaws mounted on opposite extremities of said cross member and extending therefrom in the same direction from the plane of said frame; a block' slideable on said bars; jaw means provided on said block and extending in the same direction from the plane of said frame as said two jaws, said jaws and said jaw means having abutment faces lying in the same plane and adapted to be brought to bear against the outer edge of a rim in adjusting said mount to said rim; teeth provided on said jaws and jaw means and adapted to be positioned on one side of said rim with reference to its center when said mount is so adjusted said teeth extending beyond said abutment faces; and clutch means mounted on said block and adapted, when actuated, to grip said bars and then force said block along said bars to cause said teeth to bite into said rim and thereby securely position said mount on said rim in accurate alignment therewith.

4. In a mount adapted to be united with the tubular flange of a sheet metal wheel rim having an edge the surface of which lies in a radial plane, and exterior and interior cylindrical surfaces adjacent said edge surface, the combination of: a frame including slideway bar means, and a crosshead; a body slidable on said slideway bar means; three jaws, two of which are mounted on opposite ends of said crosshead and the other of which is mounted on said slidable body, said ja'ws having abutment faces lying in a given plane; teeth provided on said jaws and extending beyond said abutment faces, the shifting of said body adapting said jaws to be positioned with all of said abutment faces contacting said edge surface with all of said teeth in contact with one of said cylindrical surfaces; and a clutch clamp on said body the initial operation of which looks said body to said slideway bar means and the subsequent operation of which shifts said body in a given direction along said bar means, said body being reversible on said slideway bar means whereby said movement of said body by said clutch clamp may be selectively employed to accomplish a constriction of said teeth or an expansion of said teeth to cause said teeth to bite into the cylindrical surface with which they are in contact and thereby unite said mount with said rim.

5. In a mount suitable for application to any of a variety of circular rims varying in diameter, the combination of: a frame; two spaced jaws provided thereon; a third jaw shiftable on said frame between various positions substantially equidistant from said first two jaws; slideway means provided on said frame along a path which is aligned with the direction which said third jaw is shiftable on said frame; an instrument support slidably mounted on said slideway means to support an instrument on said mount and slidably adjust the position of said instrument to bring the same into coaxial relation with said rim; and means operative when said three jaws have been adjusted for simultaneous contact with said rim, and on the same side thereof with reference to its center, to cause relative movement between said third jaw and said first two jaws with sufficient power to cause said three jaws to bite into said rim and thereby securely position said mount on said rim.

6. In a mount suitable for application to any of a Variety of circular wheel rims of different diameters to position an instrument in centered relation with said rim and in a predetermined geometrical relation with the plane of an edge of said rim, the combination of: a mount frame; two spaced jaws provided thereon; means on said frame providing a slideway aligned with and sym- 9 metrically disposed with respect to a plane perpendicular to and bisecting a line connecting correspondin points on said jaws; a slide slidable along said slideway; a third jaw mounted on said slide, said three jaws having rim edge contacting faces disposed in a plane parallel with said slideway; teeth provided on said jaws and adapted to be disposed to grip said rim when said jaw faces are all in engagement with said rim edge; means for shifting said slide along said slideway with said jaws so positioned, to jointly grip said rim with said teeth and thereby secure said mount on said rim; and an instrument support slidably mounted on said slideway whereby an instrument supported thereon may be brought into centered relation with said rim after said mount has been thus secured thereto.

'7. A combination as in claim 6 in which said instrument support has an instrument mounting shaft which extends therefrom substantially perpendicular to the plane of said jaw faces.

8. A combination as in claim 6 in which said 10 slide shifting means comprises a clutch clamp, the initial operation of which clamps said slide to said slideway, and the subsequent operation of which shifts said slide along said slide'way to secure said mount on said rim.

HERBERT G. HOLMES.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenioes are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,848,007 Gilden Mar. 1, 1932 1,884,370 Swanson Oct, 25, 1932 1,937,833 Mondloch Dec. 5, 1933 2,308,105 Purdy Dec. 11, 1939 2,312,955 Camburn Mar. 2, 1943 2,372,891 Fenton Apr. 3, 1945 2,402,041 Greenleaf June 11, 1946 

